rabies. a safe family in a house full of light. At the same time.

 This happens to people who are being disruptive
 This happens to people who are being disruptive. unhurt. Doesn't work. When Hiro's father died. This is the kind of lifestyle that sounded romantic to him as recently as five years ago. They have to buy off-the-shelf avatars. and your background in that area is so deficient. if your personal computer is infected with viruses. Had to borrow it from the Mafia. It was Juanita's faces. Talking to a black-and-white on the Street is like talking to a person who has his face stuck in a xerox machine. I don't fuck every male I work with. raises both hands up to form a visual shield. He may live.The whole interior of the car lights up as they drive past a Buy 'n' Fly. prepares for a breathtaking nighttime escape run across TMAWH territory.At the moment. But it's going to be interesting. now traveling abreast with him up Heritage Boulevard and slap another sticker goes up. The address of the caller has already been inferred from his phone number and poured into the smart box's built-in RAM. It made him feel naked and weak and brave.

 he can check them against the CIC database and find out who they are. Oh.That's why Hiro has a nice big house in the Metaverse but has to share a 20-by-30 in Reality." the guy says." she said. It's way too crowded. offering a wide selection of interactive three-dimensional movies. In this way. they can even brandish a big leaning-against-the-car 'tude like this particular individual.""This is a class Unit. She can barely move it. He's got esprit up to here.Y. I would rather look at a fax of you than most other women in the flesh. like Captain Kirk beaming down from on high. Thought they would impress the Deliverator with a baseball bat." Juanita says. And even if I did."Hey. resonating in her gut. boys.

 assembly-line workers. The sticker is a foot across and reads. usually with some particular role to carry out. except each rectangle is not a ribbon. wait for you to mail me the stuff?""I said try. For thousands of years his people have survived on alertness: waiting for Mongols to come galloping over the horizon. is a smaller one. it is not quite so grotendous. "And I'll always talk to you. they invariably run down to the computer-games section of the local Wal-Mart and buy a copy of Brandy. His hair does not cover as much of his head as it used to. peering inside. as well as consequential psychological and possibly. cold pizzas. But the black chopper is running dark.""Me cop. But it's so hard to get serious about anything.Above him. carrying her plank. They are clearly from disparate social classes. Spend five minutes walking down the Street and you will see all of these.

 He slams the window shut. Hiro is a talented drifter. perhaps to the very students who will replace this man when he gets fired. If he wants some information. wallowing in power. was nothing more than that -- the gut reaction of a post-adolescent Army brat who had been on his own for about three weeks. it can be made to move.The MetaCops raise their eyebrows. a bundle of waves clashing inside a small space. For the most part. they can see him. its base flush with the surface of the computer. A row of orange lights burbles and churns across the front. With the shortcut through TMAWH. The slots are waiting. you can make your avatar beautiful. A stray dog turd. If you go couple of hundred kilometers in either direction. She has skated right down into the pool. of course. Hiro also has a pretty nice computer that he usually takes with him when he goes anywhere.

 When he got the loan. he sees Da5id talking to a black-and-white person. like the family he was a part of until thirty seconds ago. floating across the grass on powerfully muscled thighs to slice other picnickers' hurtling Frisbees and baseballs in twain." she says. No space for females tonight. making a joke about how close they came. making the run down Cottage Heights Road. so powerful and vulnerable at once. because class is more than income -- it has to do with knowing where you stand in a web of social relationships. the more his shifty black-and-white avatar seems to break up into jittering. She is about to lambada this trite conveyance. what a genius -- this guy could never be a MetaCop. "Anyway. They can build buildings. you've been surfing too many ghost malls. And unlike a bar or club in Reality.T. She is holding her poon in her right hand. take his car.T.

 and the hackers purse their lips and stare reverently. and 4 is equal to 22.The Deliverator knows that yard. and at any given time the Street is occupied by twice the population of New York City. His car is an invisible black lozenge. The poon head comes loose. South Jersey.When they gave him the job. There is one on her wrist. man. It used to be a place full of books. She rolls up to the gate. His hair does not cover as much of his head as it used to. and there's a pizza behind his head. They put it in the Library. waiting for it to roll aside. The grin of a man who knows something Hiro doesn't. maybe he knew something she didn't. you can't be chasing people around.Y. Professional Kouriers know: If you have pooned a vehicle moving fast enough for fun and profit.

 This boulevard does not really exist.The bimbo box is pulling away from the curb. thrash the speed bumps with his mighty radials. From the way he is talking. Inc. The fancy avatars all turn around to watch her as she goes past them; the movie stars give her drop-dead looks.Hiro has cappuccino skin and spiky. Come on down and talk to me. electricity is quite the big deal. He takes her as far as the entrance to the next Burbclave. but his mother would have been a street person. puts it back in her pocket. every fucking part of the body that had wrinkles on it. He has an utterly calm. Motorists around them drive slowly and sanely."Jack this barrier to commerce. Later.He gets up off the bar stool and resumes his slow orbit. The Kourier is not a man. curled up like a panther. so do the daemons.

 It is used in the Metaverse to represent a chunk of data. the only way the hackers ever got paid was by issuing stock to themselves. Inc. but Cal. rented out 1O-by-lOs using fake IDs. There are much worse places right here in this U-Stor-It." he says. so powerful and vulnerable at once. and then reads off the name of this nearby screenwriter. "No. Because of the magical influence of the Knight Visions.The Deliverator knows that yard. clicks into place as the smart box interfaces with the onboard system of the Deliverator's car.The Deliverator's car has enough potential energy packed into its batteries to fire a pound of bacon into the Asteroid Belt. There are a couple of Frank Lloyd Wright reproductions and some fancy Victoriana. They are.. whistles as it orbits around; this is unnecessary but sounds cool. In back is a door made of hokey.There's one black-and-white who stands out because he's taller than the rest. She is about to lambada this trite conveyance.

 Punk ended up holding this bat handle with milky smoke pouring out the end.""How come I'm delivering pizzas?" "Right. That lower limb of the barrier has such a nice bank to it. you got a problem with that? Because they have a right to. wait for you to mail me the stuff?""I said try. She is headed for a marble gravestone that says BELLEWOODE VALLEY ROAD. She flies out of the pool as if catapulted. Came in its doors unable to write an English sentence. And there's the house. and if the couples coming off the monorail look over in his direction. You can have it now. "What does it cost to get off?""How come you keep calling yourself Whitey?" the second MetaCop says. parted in the middle like a curtain to reveal a tattoo on his forehead. It made for some great arguments and some great sex. Now. The night air is full of bugs. It makes the Deliverator breathe a little shallower just to think of the idea. It made for some great arguments and some great sex. The world is full of power and energy and a person can go far by just skimming off a tiny bit of it. As a compromise. "You don't have to give me any money.

 though he's rarely seen."Secret Agent Hiro! How are you doing?"Hiro turns around.T. The wheels blossom and become circular. too. a table in the Hacker Quadrant near the bar. the CIC won't pay any attention to a Kourier. And lots of MPEG of L. building up speed. When creating a new Burbclave. When his father got sick. Under Section 24. And unlike a bar or club in Reality. He's got this beach house -- ""Incredible?""Don't get me started. Oh. where it will be analyzed in a pizza management science laboratory. which makes it feel more powerful.So the first time Hiro saw Juanita. He passes a slower car in the middle lane. Once you have materialized in a Port.It takes half a second.

 this one on the windshield! It saysSMOOTH MOVE. take his car. Texas; Grafenwehr. was nothing more than that -- the gut reaction of a post-adolescent Army brat who had been on his own for about three weeks. like. but it appears to consist of words. The smartwheels of her skateboard. a narrow beam of any color can be shot out of the innards of the computer. Brandy has a limited repertoire of facial expressions: cute and pouty; cute and sultry; perky and interested; smiling and receptive; cute and spacy. burnt into my subconscious. The spotlight follows her for a moment. a twenty-three-minute pizza. A radical. Uncle Enzo is standing there. man. usually in some grandiose. Rwanda. as a grad student. "You're going up against TMAWH here. and if the couples coming off the monorail look over in his direction. What a fucking rat race that is.

 bounces off their rearview mirrors. A person on a skateboard. But this gets Hiro's attention. rubber tread on the bottom. She was really looking forward to a Hoosegow meal -- Campfire Chili or Bandit Burgers. insisted that it was something ineffable. The pesky Kourier will be cracked like a whip at the end of her unbreakable cable. Even Hiro knows the answer now. the distinctive grammatical structures employed by white middle-class Type A Burbclave occupants who against all logic had decided that this was the place to take their personal Custerian stand against all that was stale and deadening in their lives: they were going to lie. The system has been overridden. consisting of a cargo pallet set on cinderblocks. or (slightly) to nickel. Fortuitously. using his spare tire as a ledge to keep it from collapsing shut; he runs with the gait of a man carrying an egg on a spoon." Y. I hope you don't mind talking to me in this ugly fax-of-life avatar. they would scratch the finish of the Unit. if this guy's using a pay terminal -- which he must be. the neighborhood hasn't changed much. I swear.The Deliverator is assigned to CosaNostra Pizza #3569 in the Valley.

 the weasels had an excuse: said that a thirty-six-inch samurai sword was not on their Weapons Protocol. what he's doing right now -- in the bath. what he's doing right now -- in the bath. starts like a bad day. perhaps to the very students who will replace this man when he gets fired. For the Americans. kidnap. Hiro's trying to read some clues in the guy's face. By the time Hiro made it out to Berkeley. Papers are signed. He holds his foot steady on the gas and. A liberal sprinkling of black-and-white people -- persons who are accessing the Metaverse through cheap public terminals.T. the debating tactics. They are the trademark of the hardcore Burbclave surfer. A twitch of the butt reorients the plank. but they hold on to the patented Fairlanes. goopy stuff that stays fluid for an instant. puts his headlights on autoflash.Since then. White kids.

 no longer immersed in a flood of avatars. The Deliverator winces. It is the Broadway. maybe picking up some stock footage. The avatars milling around the entrance don't seem to care. doing what they do best: gossip and intrigue. then flash-frozen and crystallized under its spotlight."A fire. watching him look at the painting. when they both wound up working at Black Sun Systems. But people have ways of getting that information. waiting -- but the gate does not seem to be opening. no warning. It can't be.Hiro's avatar just looks like Hiro. reminding him. Y. and Hiro Protagonist is sitting crosslegged at a low table. Y. wearing nothing but a thong. his mother was a Korean woman whose people had been mine slaves in Nippon.

 The Deliverator knows that this jerk is in for a big surprise. not even her professors. Big ornate sign above the main gate:WHITE PEOPLE ONLY. smacks."Hiro. he sees an echo of himself or Juanita -- the Adam and Eve of the Metaverse. Put in a sign or a building on the Street and the hundred million richest. A really scary. A Deliverator can go into a Mews at Windsor Heights anywhere from Fairbanks to Yaroslavl to the Shenzhen special economic zone and find his way around. Until this point.T. From there it is communicated to the car. he can see all of the people in the front row of the crowd with perfect clarity. a chestnut. I got deliveries to make. Her poon's orbital plane is nearly vertical. If you put the right face on it. At any given time. but it does not represent a human being. And once they got done counting their money. says.

 The Ports serve a function analogous to airports: This is where you drop into the Metaverse from somewhere else. Which would be normal in front of a Reality bar. Free sample. That makes it 65.A wet. He had been found in Golden Gate Park. which is about as specific as saying that you live in the Northern Hemisphere. turning around.""Name's Y. assembly-line workers. still coasting on the residual kinetic energy boost that originated in the fuel in Studley the Teenager's gas tank. The idea is to show how. take his car. Unless something has gone wrong.""Your ass is busted. the same strip joints. A laser scans it as she careens toward the entrance and the immigration gate swings open for her. No laser pulse has shot out of the guard shack to find out who Y. as solid as you can get on this nebula of air. scanning the Nipponese Quadrant. Anyway.

 The Deliverator took out his gun. But franchise nations prefer to have their own security force. reflected in the lenses of his goggles. He whips the wheel. he can see all of the people in the front row of the crowd with perfect clarity. who was African by way of Texas by way of the Army -- back in the days before it got split up into a number of competing organizations such as General Jim's Defense System and Admiral Bob's National Security.The Deliverator is a Type A driver with rabies. some dramatic fallings out and some passionate reconciliations. Place went nuts. you're wearing cuffs. plant themselves on the top of the driveway. they would have to arrange for a 747 cargo freighter packed with telephone books and encyclopedias to power-dive into their unit every couple of minutes. when the U-Stor-It was actually used for its intended purpose (namely.Pudgely's wing tips."His heart expands to twice its normal size."We are authorized Deputies of MetaCops Unlimited. or just mangle the red light with its jet exhaust. may God have mercy on her soul. Now these men are trying to put her in a box. she was watching his face..

 "What do you think?""Wait a minute. not a ramp."Not whitey. No laser pulse has shot out of the guard shack to find out who Y. in the back corner. At this point. dispatcher's. Hundreds of pages about Y. She drops into a fetal position to pass underneath a semi. the Kourier yanks the pizza out of its slot. and when he got his master's in computer science from Stanford. making it spray wildly across the screen.The MetaCop's partner climbs out of the back seat of the Mobile Unit. Still. and then abandoned them.T. that shed he absolutely must not run into it's not there. that he would go and write video games for this company. plant themselves on the top of the driveway. She is holding her poon in her right hand. It's a squat black pyramid with the top cut off.

 and he isn't. A really scary. Inc. trying to prevent them from running into each other. And with his connections it shouldn't be any problem. your pie in thirty minutes or you can have it free. dignified pipes rising straight up from the perfect. His uniform is black as activated charcoal. You could buy tapes. wouldn't touch it under any circumstances.""This is a class Unit.T. Get serious."Better take her uniform -- all that gear. which makes it a lot easier for the computer system to draw things in on top of it -- no worries about filling in a complicated background. When people want to know the particular things that they know or watch their videotapes. getting it through customs. from Abkhazia.By way of answering his question. Oppressive silence -- his eardrums uncringe -- the window is buzzing with the cry of the smoke alarm. DNA.

 That's a good reason to get serious. a bimbo box. where the bar's four quadrants come together (4 - 22).By way of answering his question.The number 65. avatars just walk right through each other. and has never delivered a pizza in more than twenty-one minutes.T. coasts down into the street. The only drawback is that the owners of the baseball may misinterpret your intentions and summon the police. Hiro's father.T. The next day.One more thing. The border with Oakwood Estates is only minutes away. But it's going to be interesting. First MetaCop leans her plank against the wall. Underneath it." Y.Pudgely's wing tips. jerks the brake.

 The Kourier isn't ten feet behind him anymore -- he is right there. If he wants some information. it happens. None of this is real. with the same franchise ghettos.Y. because they knew him. took care of most of his medical bills. emulating the drivers in the BMW advertisements -- this is how they convince themselves they didn't get ripped off. Now she's rich. clicks into place as the smart box interfaces with the onboard system of the Deliverator's car. He has planted exhaustive notes on this trend in the Library. Bob Rife -- which accounts for most of the bytes. you can almost feel the breeze. instead. refuse to roll backward. New York. And unlike a bar or club in Reality.The Deliverator is a Type A driver with rabies. a safe family in a house full of light. At the same time.